When one of my best friends from college asked me to be her matron of honor, I experienced a few emotions. First, I was so, so, so happy to be asked to fill such an honor! Second, I was weirded out by the fact that I am, in fact, married and therefore, a 'matron'. Thirdly, I was excited to start sewing something!
Their wedding will be lovely palette of 'stormy' blues, olive branches, white candles and will be held at the stunningly lovely Opolo vineyard, where the bride works, and where my husband and I were lucky enough to spend a couple days during our honeymoon.
I searched for dresses for a while online, just to make sure there wasn't anything I loved, and finally I gave up. I simply don't want to spend $100+ on a polyester dress. I just...I can't. Plus, this is kind of a tricky color to match and none of the ready-to-wear dresses I found that I liked were quite the right color.
I ordered four yards of this 'steel blue' 100% silk noil from Prism Silks on Etsy for around $60 and it arrived so quickly. Yay for good customer service! The pattern is Vogue's 9252.
This pattern is awesome. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to make it. But, wow, be warned, there are a lot of pieces. Fourteen alone for the bodice and lining. Typically, though, with that many pattern pieces, it means the piece will fit well, and is easy to alter, because there are so many seams to make adjustments. This is absolutely true for this pattern.
My measurements are 34 bust, 28 waist, 38 hip and I cut out a size 12 for a B cup. This pattern had 2" of ease, so I opted for the size 12 because it would fit well in the waist, and then I could slim down the bust. The top gapped horribly at the bust (see below, sorry for the crappy iPhone picture). This didn't surprise me, because I am shallow-chested (sort of...concave?) between my shoulders and my boobs, and the bust measurement for a size 12 was 2" bigger than my measurements.
I ended up taking in the side seam 1" on each side with a dart, essentially, that tapered into the side seam at the waist.
The dress pulled the waist seam down at the sides. I'm not sure why. I think it was a combination of the waist seam being just a hair too big, and the weight of the silk skirt. To fix this issue, I took the waist seam up 1/2 on both sides, again tapering into the waist seam in the front and back, because it fit just fine there.
I also eliminated the pockets. I don't think dresses need pockets. *Gasp!* I know, some of you completely disagree with me. Honestly, I think they add bulk. And what am I going to do? Fill them with my keys and cell phone and chapstick? No. I am not.
My zipper needs to be pressed a bit more. Ignore that. I'm paranoid about burning this gosh darn beautiful silk.
Overall, I'm pleased as punch with how the dress turned out. I think that after the wedding, I'll add some sort of embroidered trim to the hem, but for now I couldn't find anything that matched that I love. Have you made this pattern?? The McCall's website shows the dress made out of a double sided fabric that is to die for, and I'd love to make another version out of something similar.
Are you making anything by hand for an upcoming wedding this year?? I'd love to see it!
Thanks for reading!
Other details: Shoes are by Sam Edelman. Bracelet was a gift.
This is so pretty! We're going to share it tomorrow on our Facebook. XOXO!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, thank you, thank you! Keep crankin' out awesome patterns. This one is a jem, for sure!
Deleteyou look beautiful! and i love the dress...
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! :)
DeleteAbsolutely gorgeous and great fit! I wish I had a wedding to go to just to make it
ReplyDeleteHaha, I must say I was pretty pleased to have a place to go in it! It's not often I have a valid excuse to sew formal clothes. Thanks so much for reading and for the sweet comment.
DeleteI thought pockets in a dress are for tampons ;) However, no pockets calls for a handmade, matching clutch!
ReplyDeleteHaha! Yes, I see your point. Oooh, a handmade clutch. It's been a while since I tackled a good purse project. Thanks for the idea!
DeleteIt was great reading about your experience with this dress, I started on it this weekend and fortunately made a toile of the bodice as it turned out huge. Love your dress and thanks a million for the sewing tips.
ReplyDelete